Steampunk Alarm Clock Paper Collage

Hello all...back with photos sharing how I created the Steampunk Alarm Clock Paper Collage I shared yesterday.  To refresh your memory or in case you missed my post yesterday here is what I made...

My original plan was to make a torn paper collage but well that just wasn't happening. I gave up the torn paper part and decided to go with fussy cutting and I was finally able to get it done.

I started out by choosing an image I wanted to collage in the form of a coloring page. This makes it easy to collage because you can choose which details to keep and which ones you'd like to eliminate. I added lots of extra feathers and enlarged some features to make him look regal. When I found the image that most closely resembled what I wanted him to look like I printed out several copies. I kept one back to use as a basic guide. The rest were numbered and cut apart for each individual feather/part.

Next I knew I wanted him to be made from Steampunk elements so I used several Graphic 45 collections - Steampunk Spells, Steampunk Debutante and Rare Oddities. These are my favorite paper collections from them as well :)

When working on a collage like this you need to start with the elements furthest in the background and work your way forward. Of course I created the background first then I started with the feet and worked my way up. You can see here the order of application - Feet, leg feathers, underbelly, back, lowest tail feathers.

I then added the upper tail feathers, wing feathers, top of the wing.

A close up of the wing and tail feathers.

Next I added the breast feathers, 2 layers of neck feathers, face then the comb. 

Once I had all the pieces and parts glued down I added some line work and white gel pen to highlight various sections of my rooster.

And there you have it...my Steampunk Alarm Clock!  Hope you've enjoyed seeing how I went about making him and give it a try yourself.  Have a lovely day my friends!

Lost in the Haze....Craft Saturday to the Rescue!

Hello All...How have you all been during this strange time we're living in? I hope you're safe, well, and enjoying the time off. If you're an essential, I hope you all know how much we appreciate you.

I feel like I've been living in a haze - no real sense of time, days, etc. It seems like an endless blur. Don't get me wrong - I love staying home and cherish the time with DH - I think I could actually be a hermit if truth be told. 

That being said all of the uncertainty and contradicting information swirling around the virus has taken it's toll on me. I am a bit odd being I'm an artist living in a Left Sided Brain. I know that's not how it should be but my logical left brain is often at war with my right brain artsy desires. That is why I haven't posted virtually anything this month. I want to create but I sit in my room and stare at all of the virus news (right, wrong or indifferent) trying to make sense of it and my creativity has been stifled.  

I was talking to my Mom recently and we decided we needed a virtual Craft Saturday....if you recall we try to have a crafty day at least once a month playing with different mediums, techniques, etc.  So I challenged my Mom and my nephew (who is living with her at the moment) to create a torn paper collage with the theme of a bird.  They accepted the challenge and I'm here with the results to share with all of you!

This is Matthew's creation...state bird of Indiana no less!  I love how he used real feathers for it's wing and tail and that background...LOVE IT!!

Mom chose a rooster on a fence....She calls it the Early Bird Gets the Worm. She used feather fibers for it's wing and various colors of washi tape for his tail. I just love it don't you? 

The sparkle of that tail is just awesome.  Check out the purple worm he's eating - LOL!! Isn't that great?

And here's mine...I was a bit late for Craft "Saturday" because I tried tearing  and I just couldn't make it look like I wanted it to so I just gave up. The right side of my brain wanted to create and the left side (and a bit OCD) just would not let it happen. The next day I decided I would switch to fussy cutting and I felt so much better about it... while it's not paper tearing it is a paper collage of a bird so I say it's close enough to qualify.

I call this my Steampunk Alarm Clock!!

Yes I made a rooster too - we didn't know we had both chosen the same bird until I showed mom while it was in the process and hers was already completed - LOL!!  Acutally, Morgan was going to make a rooster collage as well (which none of us knew) but she ended up working outside with Bob so she never was able to complete it.  Great minds you know!  

All of the paper is from Graphic 45 (except the peeling paint background) from Steampunk Spells, Debutante and Rare Oddities collections for the most part. Once I let my left brain have it's precise lines and edges I was finally able to break my creative block. It felt so good to finally do something creative.  I will share more about my process tomorrow...hope you'll stop back and check it out!

Maybe you could join us on our next Craft Saturday Challenge. We're going to try our hands at Rolodex - Memorydex cards!  I'll let you know more tomorrow :)

Roll A Graph Stamps Anyone?

Not sure how you feel about mail at the moment but if you would like some roll-a-graph stamps (not on the roll anymore) please email me your addy and I'll send you some :)  I bought a whole lot of them, I kept the ones I wanted but there were many duplicates. I tried selling them but nobody was interested so I'm just going to RAK them to interested inky friends.  I'm not taking requests, just random selections but I hope you will enjoy them.

If you're interested please e-mail me at (no spaces of course) - roni jj (at) g mail (dot) com

Have a lovely day friends :)

Donkey of Another Color

Hello all...I hope you're doing well, staying safe and finding some time to create.  

Recently I decided it was time to stop fretting - because I'm a Worry Wart - thank you Mom - that's easy for me to do. I say try because it's going to be a constant battle - with every new report it gets a little harder.  So here's what I'm doing. First thing I started to keep a journal of sorts. When things get too overwhelming I just pull it out and start writing. I write statistics, I cuss about things I've seen/read that make me mad, I write down my fears, etc. These are things I don't want to share with a live person because a) don't want them worrying about what I'm worrying about b) i know some of what I write down is silly, ridiculous, etc. c) i don't want to be someone's negative nelly...already too much of that in the world anyway.  This is not something I ever expect anyone else to read...actually when this is all over I may just throw it away. So, if you're fretting about anything just pull out a notebook and write it down. It might help you a bit just as it has me.

I also decided that it was time to start inking up some stamps that I have in my stash that I haven't used yet. Today I wanted to share one of these first time inking's....

I got this darling stamp set made by Pink Ink Designs (a UK company) that is called Cool Mule. Looks like a donkey to me so that's what I'm going with since I love donkeys.

I've used a different medium to color each image...anyone care to guess what they are?

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Guess 

now 

and

see

how 

many

you

guess

correctly....

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Answers 

below....

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Upper Left Grey Donkey - Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors

Upper Right Blue Donkey - Lindy's Gang Magical Shakers

Lower Left Pink/Purple Donkey - Imagine VeraFine Clair Inks
(Simon Says Stamp stencil as well)

Lower Right Brown Donkey - Pan Pastels

I don't know what I'm going to do with them but they were fun to color. I wish I had a way to mat them - it would be fun to put them in a frame together for some fun wall art.